Network 7 was a short-lived but influential youth music and current affairs programme screened on Channel 4 over two series in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Jane Hewland and Janet Street-Porter, who was also editor of the first series.[1]

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Network 7 was broadcast live on Sundays from noon until two o'clock and was conceived of as a 'channel within a channel', something young people could roll out of bed and watch the morning after the night before. Its mission statement was "News is Entertainment. Entertainment is News." It was known for its heavily self-branded, frenetic visual style with wild camera work, rapid cuts, very short items and "blipverts" - a dense combination of innovative graphics, and pop video style visuals explaining everything from Third World debt to bulimia.

Much of Network 7's innovative style can be seen as being inspired by a combination of elements such as the aesthetic of the Max Headroom drama 20 Minutes into the Future and the studio-based anarchy of Tiswas. The show's logo and distinctive brand and graphics (that predicted a desktop computer style) were designed by Malcolm Garrett's design studio Assorted iMaGes.

Network 7 challenged the idea that youth programming could only be a niche concern in the television business. The series won a British Academy [BAFTA] award for Originality for Hewland and Street Porter in 1987.[1] The series has been credited with changing the language of factual television and giving a start in the industry to some of UK TV's leading programme makers.

A feature on cloning cashcards, where the presenter actually cloned a card and used it to take money out of ATMs, going in depth on how it was done using a video recorder and strips of tape.

A report on how a child in Japan had made several withdrawals totalling tens out thousands of dollars using a candy bar wrapper, although Network 7 refused to mention which brand had been used.

A live satellite link-up to Ed Byrne, a man on death Row in the USA charged with murdering his girlfriend. Viewers voted whether they thought he deserved to live or die, and a presenter revealed the results to him at the end of the show (55% favoured death).